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Research on photosynthetic reaction centers from 1932 to 1987

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Discoveries in Photosynthesis

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 20))

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Abstract

The history of research on photosynthetic reaction centers is outlined, starting with the implication of their existence through the discovery of the photosynthetic unit, as reported by R. Emerson and W. Arnold in 1932, and culminating in the crystallization and X-ray analysis of the anoxygenic bacterial reaction centers, reported by J. Deisenhofer, H. Michel, and coworkers, over the period 1982–1987. Reaction centers of purple photosynthetic bacteria have received the most attention because they have been well purified and characterized. Structures of cyanobacterial reaction centers of Photosystems I and II are now available from the laboratories of H. Witt and W. Saenger.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 176 Mountain Vista Circle, Santa Rosa, CA, 95409, USA

    Roderick K. Clayton (Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor Emeritus of Biophysics)

  2. Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

    Roderick K. Clayton (Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor Emeritus of Biophysics)

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  1. Roderick K. Clayton
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    Govindjee

  2. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    J. Thomas Beatty

  3. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Howard Gest

  4. Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    John F. Allen

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Clayton, R.K. (2005). Research on photosynthetic reaction centers from 1932 to 1987. In: Govindjee, Beatty, J.T., Gest, H., Allen, J.F. (eds) Discoveries in Photosynthesis. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3324-9_19

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